Java bug burns Borg

Cisco has asked users of its Secure Access Control System 5.5 or lower to implement an urgent patch, as it has spotted several problems with its RMI implementation.

There are three independent bugs: one privilege escalation vuln (CVE ID CVE-2014-0649, here), an unauthenticated user access vulnerability (CVE 2014-0648 here), and CVE 2014-0650 (here) which is an operating system command injection vulnerability.

The first two, Cisco says, arise from “insufficient authentication and authorisation enforcement”. while the third is caused by “insufficient input validation”.

The Secure ACS products, part of the Borg's TrustSec solution, provides RADIUS and TACACS+ services for enterprise networks and VPN access.

The Java Remote Method Invocation system provides communication between ACS devices, using TCP port 2020 and 2030. This allows users to replicate confirmation information and data in multi-server environments.

In a separate note, Cisco advises that users can restrict access to these ports to trusted servers only, and can use Transit Access Control Lists to drop packets trying to exploit the vulnerabilities, while the Cisco ASA 5500. the ASA module for the Catalyst 6500, or the firewall services module for the Catalyst 6500 and 7600 can all be deployed to mitigate the risk.

The Borg states that the problem was discovered during internal testing. The update is available here. ®